• Provide legal and strategic counsel on international expansion.

• Leverage experience and network to hire the right lawyers in new countries and regions.

  • Occasional General Counsel level check-ins for the CEO and/or other leaders; or

  • Follow and help lead strategy; or

  • Actively lead.

• Strategic counsel for A new JV or assessment of AN existing JV

• JV Health Check – Assess issues, risks, and opportunities in an existing JV

• Lead JV planning and/or negotiation (new, exit, or restructure).

Benefit of a General Counsel without the cost of a full-time General Counsel

• Identify the legal Issues, Risks, and Opportunities that drive profitability.
• Provide strategic counsel on the key issues, risks, and opportunities.
  • Occasional General Counsel-level check-ins for CEO and/or CFO; or
  • Follow and help lead strategy.
• Lead outside counsel on the key issues, risks and opportunities.

Optimize Outside Counsel for Price, Quality, and Service

• Review work of outside counsel and:
  • Supervise or help supervise outside counsel; and/or
  • Find and evaluate possible alternatives to improve price, quality, and service.
  • This can be done for all firms, for the highest cost firms, or for the firms working on the matters with the most strategic significance or amounts of money at stake.

Design and Implement In-House Legal Function

• For businesses that are growing in size, scope, and complexity, assess whether adding an in-house legal function would be a profitable decision.
• Assess the business’s needs for in-house legal, and create the profile and job description needed for the first in-house lawyer.
  • Avoid the “find a square peg for a square hole” situation that sometimes arises with recruiters; use recruiters efficiently as appropriate for the situation.
  • Lead or participate in recruitment of the in-house lawyer
  • If appropriate, provide training and best practices for a new in-house lawyer

Consulting for General Counsel

• Advise and assist General Counsel on:
  • Strategy
  • Development of the legal department and the legal team
  • Dealing with CEOs, peer executives, and boards

• Assess, design and implement private company governance processes and practices to achieve business and ownership objectives

• Advise boards and management on governance issues and best practices

• Assess ownership succession plans and processes

• Bring an integrated view of corporate governance, estate planning, and business strategy to planning succession and implementing transition

Assess, develop, and implement compliance and ethics actions or programs to cost-effectively mitigate and manage risks for companies that are growing in scope and complexity, but not large enough for a “gold-plated” approach.

• Compliance and Ethics Risk Assessment
  • High-level or Detailed
  • Pragmatic and focused on the drivers of good and bad conduct
• Compliance Program Health Check
  • High-level or Detailed
  • Pragmatic and focused on the drivers of good and bad conduct
• Design and Build a Right-Sized Compliance and Ethics Program

Experience designing, creating, and implementing programs inside businesses

• Assist and/or advise in the actual implementation
• Build implementation plan for the program
• After risk assessment, develop a program that meets the business’s needs and fits its risks.
  • Avoid “check-the-box” activities that don’t really mitigate or manage the business’s actual compliance risks.
• Compliance and Ethics Training for Boards and Senior Management
  • Introduction to compliance and ethics, including risks for your particular business.
  • Training on making an existing compliance and ethics program more effective.
  • Training on the Board’s oversight and leadership role in compliance and ethics.
  • Training on specific compliance and ethics topics
    • Topics can include anti-corruption, conflict of interest, non-retaliation, and others.
    • Focus on the actual conduct and leadership that business leaders need.

Effective Board Leadership, Stewardship, and Oversight

David brings his experience in international business, in strategy, in governance and succession, and compliance and ethics to service on boards of directors and advisory boards.

Jaffe Counsel can, for a fixed price, assess how a business buys, manages and uses legal services and make recommendations for improvement.

For businesses without a general counsel, or with less experienced in­house lawyers, this assessment can help make better use of existing outside counsel, improve processes and reduce cost. For businesses that are growing or changing, it can evaluate whether management is getting the advice it needs for new situations, and help locate additional resources if needed.

Many growing businesses do not have an in­house legal department, but still face complex legal issues.

time general counsel role, David Jaffe can provide the advantages of in­house Jaffe Counsel is a cost­effective solution for these situations. By assuming a counsel while affording clients breathing room in their budgets.

Jaffe Counsel can apply David Jaffe’s experience in building an excellent legal department to creating or enhancing a business’s legal function. The firm can assess the need for in­house counsel, assist with recruitment and selection, and support and train new – or existing – in­house counsel. It is well versed in helping U.S. lawyers develop international capability.